OBITUARY -- Thomas Kahn Gardner

Published
4:00 am PDT, Saturday, August 26, 1995

Thomas Kahn Gardner, 44, a nationally known theater director and producer, died from complications of AIDS on Wednesday at his San Francisco home.

Mr. Gardner, a native San Franciscan, was the grandson of the president of the Market Street Railway. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in fine arts from the Yale School of Drama.

While serving as an assistant director of the Santa Fe, N.M., opera, he saw a need for a strong professional theater in the area. In 1981, with the support of artist Georgia O'Keefe and clothing designer Perry Ellis, Mr. Gardner founded the Santa Fe Festival Theater.

Mr. Gardner is survived by his mother, Mrs. Irvin B. Gardner of Hillsborough, and by two brothers: Robert of San Francisco and Stephen of Washington, D.C.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. August 30 at Temple Emanu-El, Lake and Arguello streets in San Francisco. The family requests contributions to the Thomas Gardner AIDS Memorial at the Yale School of Drama, New Haven, Conn. 06520.